The writings on the wall

Heresy. Other than speaking of historical, and often ancient controversies, I have not used this word. I have spoken of the Declaration of Barmen, and the Belhar Confession, both of which address contemporary heresies of segregation and racial hatred in Nazi-era Germany and Apartheid-era South Africa, but I have not discussed religious expressions as heresy regarding current events at any time in my ministry.

Until yesterday.

What follows is a more refined statement of my unrehearsed words about the abhorrent displays of racism in Charlottesville, VA.

This is not a statement of faith from the members of the church nor their elected leaders, called the Session and elders. This is my pastoral discourse about white supremacy and white nationalism.

Yesterday, Sunday, August 13, 2017, with gratitude of the call to the preaching ministry of this particular church, I prayerfully waded into deep waters with many other white pastors across this nation, and declared to our mostly white congregants thatWhite Supremacy, White Nationalism, and the pursuit of white race based policies promulgated by people in the name of Christianity are heresies. They are not faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the grace and love of God for God’s beloved creation, nor the ongoing work of reconciliation in the Holy Spirit. The Triune God of Christian faith is not, I repeat, not compatible with any form of differentiation that pits “white against black” and claims or enforces any form of superiority for whites. To believe in white supremacy is to believe in an idol and to reject our God.

We are all one in Jesus Christ our Lord who teaches us to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. There is no love in demeaning another person, in word or action, for the color of their skin. There is nothing inherently good about classifying oneself as being white, and nothing inherently bad in being classified as black.

From Genesis and God’s idea to create humankind in the image of the divine and Holy One, to the ministry of Christ that reconciled all divisions between peoples into one new human being, to the birth of a religion called Christianity that recognized no differences between “Jew and Greek” and claimed one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, the witness of the Holy Spirit in the Bible is for our common inheritance as beloved children of God, without distinction.

However, there are privileges associated with whiteness in America that create an unequal and unjust system of socioeconomic power and freedom suggesting a special blessing upon white people. This is a false blessing. It is not an endowment by our Creator. The advantages have occurred due to inequality begun in this nation with the enslavement and domination of a subjected, kidnapped, and imprisoned people from the nations of Africa. Chained to their owners, they were subjected to patriarchal religious oppression by their white slave masters and clergy. Yet, the descendants of these slaves who came to believe in Christ have much to offer whites just as Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers, came to rescue the Israelite people of ancient times. If white people will listen and learn.

For white Christians, some faithful responses to the hatred, bigotry, and idolatry of white supremacy is to actively work toward racial reconciliation and communion, to actively understand the nature of racism and its roots in American society, to actively uncover one’s own biases and advantages with an eye toward repairing the breech that prevents black and African-American people from being able to achieve the same positive outcomes from the same level of opportunity and efforts.

The best chance for success in any of these avenues is in conversation, in truth-telling, in the painful honest dialogue between white and black citizens. Go, learn, grow.

This week we will prayerfully consider the 3 words of our goal: Justice, Mercy, and Humility (faithfulness), and the 4 words I introduced as a posture for achieving those: Welcome, Authenticity, Laughter, Love (building the WALL).Thursday

The word of the day is Love.

Scripture: Deut 6:4-6, Mt 5 :43-48, Rom 8: 38-39Thought: Love--the center and foundation of our values and mission. How many definitions of love might there be? Yesterday, I wrote of the lesser known side of laughter as a necessary portion for making the heart glad. Today I invite you to consider the lesser discussed side of love—love for the enemy.We are called to loving God with our entire being. Loving our neighbor is regarded as a reciprocal relationship, something mutual. God’s love for humankind is unbreakable. But then there is our love for the enemy.Who wants to offer respect, kindness, charity, compassion, empathy…much less a mutual opportunity for a relationship with someone who seeks our demise?Is it possible that love of enemy is the same love we are to have for God and that God provides us? In our daily lives, few of us can say yes. Yet, in our daily lives, all of us who are called by the name of Christ, are to strive toward that action and attitude. For that is the act of God toward us.In this is the reconciliation we have in Christ. As followers of Christ’s way, we are called “ambassadors of Christ.” We represent Christ to others, God to others.Think of someone for whom you have little “love.” Perhaps it is a global threat or a person at work or in the neighborhood, or even your family or church. Pray for them today two times. And pray for yourself.Prayer: Christ, you have called me your friend. God, you have claimed me as your child. Spirit, you inspire me as worthy of the gifts of holiness. It is so hard at times to behave lovingly toward those I do love that it is nearly impossible to consider loving those who hate me, reject me, or treat my beloved with disdain. Yet, because you first loved me, today I am willing to try anew to love my enemy. Lord, help me. Amen.Peace, Rev Bev

​This week we will prayerfully consider the 3 words of our goal: Justice, Mercy, and Humility (faithfulness), and the 4 words I introduced Sunday as a posture for achieving those: Welcome, Authenticity, Laughter, Love (building the WALL).

Wednesday

The word of the day is Laughter.

Scripture: Eccl 7: 1-14, John 15: 1-11, Phil 4: 4-9

Thought: Laughter is more than a momentary expression of mirth. Some people (myself included) sometimes laugh inappropriately, when something very uncomfortable is happening. I used to treat this experience as an embarrassment in my inability to respond appropriately.

Then I realized I could own up to the pain of the moment being somehow overwhelmingly sorrowful with only bent-over weeping and shame as the other response. Recognizing awkward laughter as a clue to the reality of suffering enabled me to shift gears, react less often with what others know to be discordant, and begin to experience the deep pain in the world around me in new ways. And more coherently in my outward and inward experience.

The writer of Ecclesiastes suggests the sorrow is a better dwelling place than the joy. In Philippians, Paul also suggests that we rejoice in sorrow as we do in good times. Working in a hospice ministry, I have learned that those who coped best with their terminal illnesses were the ones who confessed the pain and sorrow of knowing the defined limits of their lifespan. Once they admitted openly and discussed this well, they found a better life, a life of their choosing, even as they lived their last days.

In other words, as Ecclesiastes says in vs. 3, when we acknowledge the sadness, our heart becomes glad. No longer do we run from pain or suffering. We run to and through it.

What sadness do you need to acknowledge and welcome into your life today for the lesson it might teach you? What suffering can you begin to look squarely in the face and therein find something to laugh about, to make your heart glad?

Prayer: God of woes and well-being, who came to address the pain and suffering of the world, help me this day. Come into my life and address the pain and suffering in my world. In so doing, may I find my joy and the joy you have prepared for me. Amen.

​This week we will prayerfully consider the 3 words of our goal: Justice, Mercy, and Humility (faithfulness), and the 4 words I introduced as a posture for achieving those: Welcome, Authenticity, Laughter, Love (building the WALL).

Tuesday

The word of the day is Authenticity.

Scripture: Psalm 51, John 8: 31-36, Eph 4: 25-32

Thought: What do you think of this opinion,

​“Millennials tend to be idealistic. They have great stores of energy and hope. They want to believe that every person’s apparent character represents who they truly are (their authentic self) and that the culture within organizations will encourage and enable this authenticity”?

The article from which this quote comes talks about constructed authenticity and existential authenticity. Social expectations and experiences allow us to construct our selves and express our selves (yes, this is not a typo but an intentional use of separating ourselves into two words). Constructed Authenticity is the congruence and consistency between the virtual world and the incarnate world or our online self and the self we show our friends and colleagues when we're with them.

Existential Authenticity is presence of norms, values and rules that can restrict or enhance the ability of a person in that context to be who they are. In other words how do groups like a church, a company, a neighborhood association, a sports team, etc. allow a person to be themselves and value that truth as worthy to the institution.

These are not new concepts. The Hebrew Scriptures define many ways that the people were expected to behave and to express themselves if they called themselves children of God. That expectation carries forward into the church of the New Testament as well.

Yet, underneath all of this is the call to liberation from expectations of perfection. The good news is the call to repentance, the call to declare your vulnerabilities, to admit failure, to even confess feelings of powerlessness. It is also the freedom to show your intelligence and creativity. Sometimes the hardest thing I do is speak in front of a church as a smart person with new ideas simply because I am afraid of being teased as I was when I was young, "bookworm, smarty pants, nerd." It is sometimes easier to admit failure because in some ways I am expected to fail (at least in my own head).

With the freedom we find in Christ, we find truth and with that truth we find freedom to be ourselves--fully known and blessed and loved.

May we learn from well from the gifts of the millennial generation who would teach us well about authenticity.

Prayer: To the One Truth who sets us free to be, may we this day find a place to take a chance. Help me reveal my true face, my brilliance or my vulnerability. Help me be. And in my being my I know that you are God and I am your beloved child. Amen.

​This week we will prayerfully consider the 3 words of our goal: Justice, Mercy, and Humility (faithfulness), and the 4 words I introduced as a posture for achieving those: Welcome, Authenticity, Laughter, Love (building the WALL).

The word of the day is Welcome.

Scripture: Deut 10: 17-19Luke 15: 1-2 Romans 12: 10-13

Thought: As we cultivate a spirit of welcome in ourselves, it will become a spirit of welcome throughout the ministry of Rock Spring. Our faith tradition has always been about how we share life together as a welcoming people, even to the people in our lives with whom we disagree and those we sense are struggling with things we may not approve of.

To be a welcoming church is to grant the same hospitality to members and guests without any preferential treatment. At the same time this inclusive perspective takes hold, we also know that God has chosen and gifted churches to serve particular situations. So while we welcome anyone, we must make a special effort to connect with those we are meant to serve. It is likely they are not “coming to church,” and so we must go to them.

Just as Jesus sent his disciples out just as God the Father sent God the Son and God the Son sent God the Spirit so the Holy Spirit sends us to show hospitality on earth as it is in heaven.

Prayer: Welcoming God, you have called me a temple of the Holy Spirit, come and make me your dwelling place in me anew.

“You have given me a house that has become my refuge. Sometimes I find it difficult to share, but your Word directs me to give things away liberally. Today I am giving you my home. Give me patience when my home gets messy. After all, what did you give it to me for in the first place? A museum of collectibles or fine things? A sterile environment that makes no one feel at ease? No. A home is to be used, lived in, loved in, offered and given up for others. Take my home, Lord, it is yours.”

As a temple of the Holy Spirit, come and make Rock Spring your dwelling place anew. In Christ’s name and with the power of Holy Spirit I pray, Amen.

You are a tapestry woven with God’s care.Some strands may be dark or light, the fabric rough or smooth.The pattern may be blurred sometimes, yet faithfully you move--Into a picture beautiful, becoming a vision whole;A life of many different parts with shining strands of gold.

You are a tapestry woven with God’s love.The sorrows and the joys of life are tangled through and through.The edges of your tapestry seem ready to undo.Yet, there is a comforter already by your side.Your weaver is always near you, forever to abide.

We are a tapestry woven with God’s care.Some strands may be dark or light, the fabric rough or smooth.The pattern may be blurred sometimes, yet faithfully we move--Into a picture beautiful, becoming a vision whole;A church of many different parts with shining strands of gold.

That’s the beginning of the story. It is actually the whole story. There was nothing. Then Creation exploded into being as God sang the Song of Light. “God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good.” (Genesis, Chapter 1)

Well, mostly. For a while. Somehow darkness continued — and still continues — to plague us: the darkness of tragedy, the darkness of natural disaster, the darkness that persists in the human heart.

But Christmas reminds us of the power of light: “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” We experience Jesus as the embodiment of that light: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (Gospel of John, Chapter 1) But darkness still persists.

January 6th is Epiphany. It is the day the Church recalls the journey of the magi, the exotic persons “from the East” who followed a mysterious star to find the Christ Child. It is a celebration of the light of Christ which we will share in worship on January 8th.

What sort of star was it? Who were the magi? What does their journey tell us about being Epiphany People? Read Matthew 2:1-12. What epiphanies do you find?

Advent is an eagerly-anticipated time of year. Well, maybe, for some of us, it is a dreaded time of year. Whatever your gut reaction to Advent may be, Advent provides us with a unique opportunity for wonder, for questions, for comfort, and for spiritual exploration. It’s also the time when it’s actually OK to hear Christmas music in stores and restaurants.

Traditionally the word advent means “coming” or “arrival.” I prefer its dynamic sense: someone is on the way; someone is moving toward us with great urgency. Someone wants passionately to be among us in the ups-and-downs of our real lives, to bring new energy to our labors, our joys, our sorrows. That someone is Christ.

There is a paradox inherent in our Advent observance. We prepare ourselves for the arrival of someone who has already come. “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7) That happened already. So what are we waiting for?

When we celebrate Communion, the celebrant declares, “Every time we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the death of our Lord Jesus, until he comes again.” Jesus has been here. Jesus is coming again.

In this mysterious in-between time, we have a renewed opportunity to wake up, to pay attention, to watch for the ways Christ is moving among the realities of our world. We also hear a voice calling us to do more than watch. For each of the four weeks of Advent, our worship team is providing you with a prayer guide in the hope of providing you with a few tools to enrich your Advent experience and your Christmas celebration. We also hope these guides will deepen your awareness of God’s love for you -- and your neighbor.

​ We have been through one of the harshest election seasons ever. Now, regardless of whether any of us voted for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton or someone else, all of us find ourselves in the midst of very distressing circumstances.

Fears of heightened bigotry and hate crimes have turned into reality for many Americans. Swastikas, racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim graffiti are appearing in cities and suburbs. There are unruly protests and vandalism. The Southern Poverty Law Center has counted more than 300 cases of hateful harassment or intimidation in the US since Election Day.

Like the smoke from the drought-fed fires that covers Georgia and the Carolinas, fear now permeates the air all around us. It is not just abstract, unrealistic fear. This is anxiety born directly from specific comments and actions that have singled out race, ethnicity, gender and gender identity. It is personal.

As Christians what do we do? What actions are we, empowered by and driven by the love of God, called to take?

Here is a story of hope that a few of you shared with me. These bigoted attacks and harassment — carried out against Americans by Americans — are much like the attacks that many British people and immigrants suffered at the hands of other Brits in the wake of the “Brexit” vote earlier this year.

During the height of these attacks, many people wanted to show solidarity, support, and offer safety to one another but didn’t know how. An American woman named Allison living in Britain at the time decided that she wanted to change that:

I'd like to come up with something that can be made by anybody anywhere to pin on their jacket or coat to signify that they are an ally.

I quite like the idea of just putting a safety pin – empty of anything else – on your coat. A literal SAFETYpin!

In a big city like London, or even in someplace smaller like a grocery store, or a coffee shop, we’re all just strangers to one another. It can be difficult for all of us to either reach out for help or to offer help. A symbol as simple as a safety pin can be an important first step in showing solidarity and support for people who are scared and upset at this time.

There’s now a growing movement in the United States for people to start wearing a safety pin in the wake of post-election attacks and harassment. In itself it is a small thing. But what it says to fellow Americans and our immigrant neighbors who are afraid or subject to abuse is hugely important: I will stand by you. I will sit next to you. I will walk with you. I will defend your rights in America.

You can be a part of this. There is a small bowl of safety pins on the table outside the office. Take one and pin it to your lapel or your collar and let people know that you are an ally to those who are troubled and that you are on the side of peace.